Clean Eating Coconut Dulche De Leche (Coconut Caramel Sauce)

Sometimes, a girl needs something completely delicious, decadent and well…. just downright sinful. And if that something has the added benefit of being clean, well I just don’t see a downside in any of it.

The truth is, I’ve been adapting a lot of recipe lately simply because I’m still wrapping my brain around all these new ingredients I’m using (and all the ones I can’t use anymore!). I find that adapting other recipes helps me learn the ins and outs of how particular ingredients function.

Take coconut milk, for example. It’s rich and creamy, and acts almost like regular milk when cooking. But it also contributes that creamy texture to most recipes you make with it and that is why I love it so.

Seeing as how I’m in Ireland at the moment, I’ve been looking at Irish food blogs. I came across this one called, Farmette. It’s a delightful blog and has some incredible looking recipes. Take this onefor example. I figured the recipe would be approximately the same with coconut. And while there were some very minor adjustments needed (like omitting the salt), this recipes worked up beautifully with coconut milk!

TRIP UPDATE:

So we finally made it to Blarney Castle. At first, it was one of those things that we thought we would do only if we had some extra time. But instead, we made the time for it, and I’m so glad we did. I think so far, this has been one of the best parts of our trip!

A view from the side of the castle. It’s pretty breathtaking when you arrive at it’s base. The walls were built to lean inwards, giving the castle a much more foreboding appearance. It was built that way to make the castle look larger and taller than it actually is. The blarney was apparently also installed in the architecture!

This is the side view of the castle. I just couldn’t stop taking pictures! Construction on Blarney Castle began some time in the 1400’s. Pretty impressive the way they built these large buildings with none of the equipment we have today.

This was a room reserved for young girls or priests when staying at the castle. It was fairly small, but I suppose for those times, it was comfortable accommodations.

Here you are looking up at the second floor fireplace. There is an exact duplicate on the other side of the room. Those pieces sticking out of the wall were the supports for the floor, which has obviously not lasted through the years.

This is a view of the castle from the Battlements wall. This would have been part of your view if you were defending the castle agains invaders.

The hole at the top of the tower, in the middle is where the Blarney stone is. They lower you down, upside down and backwards so you can kiss the stone. Apparently, the iron grate you see there is a recent addition. Before that, you really took your life into your own hands (or at least the person holding onto you did!) just to kiss a stone that is reportedly good at making you eloquent. If you’d like to read more about the history of the stone, this is a good place to start.

Just for the record, I did NOT kiss the stone! I made it up to about the third floor level in that very narrow and extremely steep staircase with only a rope to hang onto, and my phobias kicked in. It was too high, and too confined. I turned around and very carefully went back down. Maybe next time….

This is just one of the incredible views of the grounds surrounding the castle. The beauty here is unmatched. And incase you’ve ever wondered where the term “full of blarney” came from, here’s how it all began…

In frustration, Elizabeth said, “The earl’s reports were all ‘Blarney’. And thus, a new word was born.

And lastly, there is a postcard we bought that I just loved. It describes the difference between boloney and blarney. Here’s what it said…

“Baloney is when you tell a 50-year old woman that she looks 18. Blarney is when you ask a woman how old she is, because you want to know at what age women are most beautiful.”

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Felicia – I honestly don’t know as I haven’t tried it. I don’t think it would work simply because a slow cooker has to have the lid on the entire time to keep the temperature correct. But with this, you have to stir it and skim the foam constantly. So I don’t think it would work.

FYI if you click the “print” button in the blog, it doesn’t just print the recipe, it prints the full 18 page blog post, including full pages of castle photos. 🙁 It just used up the last of my ink and paper. I’d suggest cutting and pasting if anyone’s wanting this recipe. Despite that, I can’t wait to try it.

Is that coconut milk in a can? If so, I can’t find it anywheres except in the international food section and then I can’t read it to see if it is full fat or what. Do you have any suggestions on where to find it?

Lori – Depends. If you want it to be clean, then no. But if you don’t care, than it would probably work. Take a look at the original recipe I linked to in the notes above the recipe. It will give you a good idea of how to do it with real sugar.

Coconut sugar is a sweetener made from the sap of a particular type of palm tree. It looks similar to brown sugar, but more dry. Good stuff! You can get it at many health food stores or order it online from Amazon.com.

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The Gracious Pantry is an ever-growing collection of real food recipes and cooking information. My focus is to further support the real food movement and inspire people to store, prep and cook with real food. Read more about Tiffany...